Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen, who is a member of Taiwan's Kuomintang opposition party and a potential presidential candidate for the January 2028 election, said on April 6 that a reasonable special defense budget should be NT$800 billion-NT$1 trillion ($25 billion-$31 billion), much higher than the current KMT proposal, the South China Morning Post reported on April 4. Meanwhile, former KMT chair Eric Chu has also supported a budget of around NT$900 billion.

Cheng supports a special defense budget of only NT$380, while President William Lai supports a larger budget of NT$1.25 trillion. An anonymous KMT lawmaker cited by the South China Morning Post affirmed many in the party are cautious about the impact of Cheng's China policy on the party ahead of elections and the wisdom of prioritizing KMT ties with Beijing over Washington.